The present invention relates to an apparatus for projecting supported objects, such as, for example, a ball on a tee. The invention is suitable for use in children's games and allows children to strike those objects more easily and consistently. Many children, particularly those who are young, have difficulty accurately striking objects, whether it be an object such as a golf ball with a golf club, a baseball with a bat, or a football with the child's own foot. This results from a lack of coordination on the part of young children when striking objects that are relatively small in size. In addition, if contact with the object is actually made, often it is not struck squarely and as a result the object does not project very far off the tee away from the striking apparatus or does not project in the desired direction.
Conventional striking apparatuses are known, particularly in the game of golf. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,161,411 to Cockburn discloses a hinged striking plate attached to a base plate. As the rear of the striking plate is struck by a golf club, the striking plate imparts backspin to a golf ball to increase the ball's trajectory and hold its position on the green. However, this striking apparatus requires use of a separate, pivoting locating pin to hold the golf ball against the surface of the striking plate and is aimed at adult users who wish to increase the accuracy of their shots by providing backspin to the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,815,953 to West discloses an impact member slidably mounted along an elastic band that is stretched between two sides of a hinged gate attached to a base. The golf ball is placed in the angle created between the base and the hinged gate. When the impact member is struck from behind, the elastic band is stretched, imparting forward motion energy to the golf ball.
None of these known striking apparatuses, however, are designed to enable children to more readily participate in sports and games by providing a striking apparatus that combines a surface for receiving a force (a target surface) by being struck by a child, with a surface for supporting the ball (a supporting surface) and a surface for transferring the force to the ball (a projecting surface) in a way that would allow younger children to strike the target area more easily and consistently, as opposed to merely trying to strike the object itself, enabling the struck object to fly further and straighter. In addition, as the child becomes more proficient and skilled at striking objects, none of the known striking apparatuses allow the child user to change the position of the striker apparatus so that the child is able to strike the object directly.
Thus, there is a need for a striking apparatus so that children can more easily and consistently strike supported objects in various sports and games, allowing younger children to participate in such games. Further, there is a need for a striking apparatus which can be alternatively positioned to accommodate the increased skill and proficiency of a child user as the child user matures.